Town found themselves with a two-goal advantage within 25 minutes of the match, thanks to a brace from Stephen Walker.

But Gary Liddle's side saw his side pegged back before half-time as Ashley Chambers and Jordan Hallam restored parity for the hosts.

Whitby again lead early in the second half before being put back on level terms once more, before Walker secured his hat-trick with five minutes of normal time to play as he netted a stunning winner.

The game's first shot on target produced the opening goal of the match through Walker. The former Middlesbrough striker met Nathan Thomas' near-post corner delivery to head home.

Whitby were on fire in the opening exchanges with Walker and Campbell Darcy linking up well seven minutes after the Seasiders had taken the lead, however Darcy was unable to hit the target on this occasion.

Walker, though, would bag a second goal in the 25th minute when he raced through on goal after Connor Simpson's flick-on before spotting Saul Deeney off his line and lobbing the ball into the net.

Basford, though, grew into the game and mustered a response which forced some last-ditch defending from Frankie Whelan after the ball had been bouncing around loose inside the area.

And Basford found a route back into the game on the 39 minute mark when Chambers found the top corner via the crossbar after Whitby struggled to clear following an initial punch from Shane Bland.

Despite early waves of Whitby pressure, their first-half hard work was undone when Chambers was brought down in the box.

Right on the stroke of half time, Hallam stepped up as Greenwich Avenue fell silent and sent Bland the wrong way to send the sides into the break on even terms.

Much like in the first half, it was Town who started brightly after the restart. The advantage could have been secured once again thanks to Thomas who saw his long-range shot go wide via a deflection.

And there was reward for this positive start as Thomas netted Whitby's third of the afternoon, heading home after Walker had initially been denied by Deeney, who parried the forward's effort right into the path of Thomas' head.

Again, Whitby couldn't hold on to their lead. Aaron Haswell halted a Basford attack around 20-yards from goal, but Hallam's precision over the dead ball saw him equalise for a second time as he curled a free-kick into the top corner.

All of a sudden, it was Basford in the ascendancy to go on and claim all three points. They would have done were it not from three pieces of heroic defending from the Seasiders. Two efforts were cleared off the line in the 75th minute, before Connor Smith was well placed to block Chambers' goal-bound strike just moments later.

These moments of excellence at the back ultimately helped Whitby to go on and take the points home themselves as they hit Basford with a sucker punch with five minutes of normal time to play.

Breaking quickly, the ball was played into the path of Walker in a wide position. He cut inside, beat his man, and then curled an unstoppable strike into the far top corner, beyond the reach of Deeney to send the Town management team into huge celebrations.

Basford's task of trying to get something from the game was made slightly more difficult in the first minute of six added in stoppage time when Deeney was show a straight red card for handball outside his area.